SWATCH SUNDAY — Claire’s Khaki Green

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! Another beautiful sunny Sunday. I know we still have a little under a month of Summer left (according to the calendar) but man oh man, do I feel the Autumn polish vibes calling. So I decided to pull out one of those more Fall-esque shades for today’s Swatch Sunday post. 🍂🍁

This is Claire’s Khaki Green.

2 coats + top coat

I’ve written before about my absolute love of Claire’s polishes, even after all these years. Working for the company really introduced my absolute nail polish obsession, especially they were always very good for duping current trends in their polish brand — like crackle, feather, etc.

Khaki Green is a beautiful olive geeen with a stunning shimmer of golden bronze that really pops on the nail, especially in the sunshine. It is definitely giving late Summer/early Autumn, & would be the perfect addition to any Fall nail polish collection. & I love how the shimmer actually shows up better on the nail than in the bottle, which I feel like is virtually unheard of (it’s usually the other way around.)

Seriously — look at that shimmer. It’s just so stunningly beautiful!

The formula on this guy was good & easy to apply. It actually had a good shiny finish, although I did add top coat to really gloss it up. Over all, a good shade from a mainstream brand that isn’t necessarily known for their nail polish. I always love when you kind find hidden gems where you wouldn’t normally think to look.

Sadly, this shade is a few years old now so (I’m guessing) no longer in rotation. But I definitely recommend checking out the shades they release, because there are always fun colours & finishes you wouldn’t expect.

What do you think of Claire’s Khaki Green? Do you like this shade of olive green with shimmer? Is this kind of colour one you would reach for come Autumn? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below!

Happy Sunday 🖤

GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE AUGUST (2024) — Stained Glass

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday. I hope everyone is having a lovely week so far. The weather here has been weird — cold then hot & muggy, with sporadic rain. Makes it very hard for a girl to know what to wear!

But today marks another prompt for Glam Nails Challenge August, & today’s prompt is stained glass. & obviously, I had to pull out an old favourite for this prompt — the stained/shattered glass look I love so much. This time, I used a flakie topper which gave it more of that stained glass effect I think.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • OPI Turn On The Northern Lights
  • ‘Ard As Nails Fairy Flakes

  • NailStuff.ca dotting tool from Dotting Tool Trio

How pretty is this look! I’ll admit, fishing out the flakies vs the usual hard glitters I usually do this kind of look with was a bit more time consuming than I was expecting, but then end result is so worth it! I’m kind of obsessed with these flakies over this dark base & it’s giving straight up Autumn—& I’m okay with that. Time to pull out my over the knee socks & sip on some pumpkin spice.

I’ve been wearing this look for a few days, & I got curious how it would look matte-ified & oh man… I think I love it even more! What do you think — shiny or matte?

I love a good stained glass look, so this was a fun prompt. Plus it let me tap into those Autumn vibes I’ve been seriously craving, & I’m not mad about it at all. Over all, this might be one of my favourite designs of the challenge thus far. It’ll be interesting to see what the rest of the month holds!

& as always, you can follow along with the Glam Nails Challenge on Instagram with the hashtag #glamnailschallengeaug24 & see all the beautiful nails that have been created!

Happy Wednesday

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Purple Holographic Glitter Gradient 💜✨

Happy Wednesday lovelies.

The sun is shining, & that is more than enough reason for some holographic nails! I was feeling some serious glitter, & I think this manicure achieved that.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Here to Stay
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Color Club Pucci-Licios
  • Nubar Treasure
  • Color Club Top Shelf
  • Starrily Space Debris

Look at that sparkle! ✨ yes, I have quite a few polishes layered to achieve this look, but it’s totally worth it. It’s been a rough week & a half, so a little extra sparkle is totally what the universe ordered. It makes me smile, & feel extra pretty.

What I love is I didn’t even need any tools to achieve this — just a little patience to apply the glitter to my tips! Definitely obsessed with the over all sparkle, especially when I’m in the sunshine.

How do we feel about these extra sparkly gradient nails? Are we a fan? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Have a lovely day!

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Under the Sea Stamped Nail Art 🪸🌊

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday. Sorry for a quiet week so far — with the kids being off school, sometimes it’s hard to get my posts done!

But I’m really excited to share my nails today, because I feel like these are really fun! I originally started out with just my gradient nails, but felt like something was missing so I added some fun stamping—that reminded me of sea weed—over top.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Here to Stay
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • CND Vinylux Lost Labyrinth
  • Icing Stores Starlight
  • Icing Stores Black
  • Born Pretty Store Stamping Plate BP-L026
  • Nailstuff.ca clear stamper & scraper set

Does that not look like seaweed, under the water? If only I had some cute fish nail art stickers strategically added, then I would really sell the ocean vibes! But I still think the stamping gave the look I was going for.

What do you think of these stamped nails? Did you guess ocean? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Designer Series DS Classic

Hello lovelies& happy Sunday! It’s another cloudy rainy Sunday here so I decided to cheer myself up with a little holographic sparkle for this week’s Swatch Sunday post.

This is OPI Designer Series DS Classic

2 coats + top coat

This gorgeous gold holographic polish was released as part of OPI’s now discontinued Designer Series collection of nail polishes which were more extravagant than their core line — think lots of glitter, especially holographic! The polishes looked like jewels on your nails, which I’m guessing was the idea. I have a few of their shades from this collection — including DS Extravagance which I was gifted for my birthday in the beginning of my nail polish journey.

DS Classic was a shade I sought out, & actually had my local Chatters specifically order in for me because I needed it so badly.

Look at that freaking sparkle. I used my flash to really capture just how much this glitter sparkles on your nails. It’s absolutely gorgeous. & I’m so glad I added it to my collection all those years ago, because I still wear it very regularly.

What do you think of OPI Designer Series DS Classic? Do you own any of the Designer Series shades in your stash? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below!

Happy Sunday!

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